Lenfest Center for the Arts (left) and Jerome L. Greene Science Center (right). Image © Columbia University / Frank Oudeman

The first stage of Columbia University’s new Manhattanville Campus, consisting of two buildings by Renzo Piano Building Workshop, is nearly complete, with a move-in and grand opening slated for spring 2017.

The Piano-designed Jerome L Greene Science Center and Lenfest Center for the Arts are the first two buildings to be completed within the larger campus masterplan, conceived by Piano in collaboration with SOM, that will eventually encompass nearly 19-acres between 125th and 133rd streets in northwestern Manhattan.

Jerome L. Greene Science Center, seen from the southeast. Image © Columbia University / Frank Oudeman

The 450,000-square-foot Science Center constitutes the single largest building ever constructed by Columbia University, and contains open-plan laboratory areas and interactive spaces, encircling a core of meeting and collaborative spaces. An abundance of natural light penetrates deep into the building via double-skin glass walls, which have been designed to eliminate noise from nearby subway and highway bridges.

Jerome L. Greene Science Center: Double-height meeting and interactive spaces. Image © Columbia University / Frank Oudeman

Detail of double-pane glass walls in Jerome L. Greene Science Center. Image © Renzo Piano Building Workshop (design architect) and Davis Brody Bond (executive architect), Photograph by Nic Lehoux

Jerome L. Greene Science Center: Collabora- tive meeting spaces and open-air staircases that connect two oors. Image © Columbia University / Frank Oudeman

“I’m suspicious about metaphors,” remarked Piano. “But if it is a palace, it is a palace of light.”

At ground level, a community wellness center, education lab, exhibition area, retail and restaurants will invite the public to use the building as well.

Lenfest Center for the Arts. Image © Renzo Piano Building Workshop (design architect) and Davis Brody Bond (executive architect)

Lenfest Center for the Arts: The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery. Image © Renzo Piano Building Workshop (design architect) and Davis Brody Bond (executive architect), Rendering by Dionysios Tsagkaropoulos

Next door, the 60,000-square-foot Lenfest Center for the Arts will provide flexible space for a variety of artistic interventions, including more 4,000 square feet of column-free exhibition space, a 150-seat theater for film and digital projection, an adaptable performance space for experimental productions and a 4,300-square-foot lecture and presentation space. The four main program elements feature double-height spaces, with support services and offices located on the mezzanine levels. Unique exterior “column-like structures” will distribute loads to the outside of the building, allowing interior spaces to remain open.

Lenfest Center for the Arts: The Katharina Otto-Bernstein Screening Room. Image © Renzo Piano Building Workshop (design architect) and Davis Brody Bond (executive architect), Rendering by Dionysios Tsagkaropoulos

Lenfest Center for the Arts: The Lantern, an open presentation space, which will host a variety of public programs and events. Image © Renzo Piano Building Workshop (design architect) and Davis Brody Bond (executive architect), Rendering by Dionysios Tsagkaropoulos

Lenfest Center for the Arts: A exible performance space, which will showcase thesis productions and support innovation in the performing arts. Image © Renzo Piano Building Workshop (design architect) and Davis Brody Bond (executive architect), Rendering by Dionysios Tsagkaropoulos

The 8-story building has been clad primarily in painted aluminum, with large expanses of double-height windows strategically located to provide performance areas with targeted natural light. The ground floor, however, has been fitted with a completely transparent custom-glazed curtain wall to promote a connection to the campus and provide views to activities within.

Aerial view of Manhattanville campus. Image © Columbia University / Eileen Barrosso

The next phase of the campus masterplan consists of a third building by Renzo Piano Building Workshop, the 56,000-square-foot University Forum and Academic Conference Center, which is currently under construction and expected to be completed by 2018. Soon to begin construction is the a new home for the Columbia Business School, designed by Diller Scofidio+Renfro in collaboration with FXFowle around a one-acre publicly accessible green space.

Detail of Jerome L. Greene Science Center. Image © Columbia University / Frank Oudeman

Future phases will include the adaptive reuse of several former industrial buildings including an auto finishing plant for Studebaker Motors and a Sheffield Farms dairy facility. All buildings on the campus will eventually be connected through an underground system leading to a 75,000-square-foot energy plant, which will provide all buildings with electricity, chilled water and high-pressure steam.

“Underground, there is continuity among the various buildings,” said Piano, “but above ground the buildings belong to both the campus and the city.”

Jerome L. Greene Science Center, seen from the 125th Street #1 train subway platform. Image © Columbia University / Frank Oudeman

The full campus development is estimated to cost $6.3 billion. More information on the plans can be found on the campus website, here.

News via Columbia University.

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© Alan Tansey

• Architects: AlexAllen Studio
• Location: New Paltz, NY 12561, United States
• Architect In Charge: Allen Slamic, Alexandra Burr
• Area: 3250.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Alan Tansey

• Contractor: Robert J. Campbell Jr. & Sons, Inc.

© Alan Tansey

From the architect. AlexAllen studio’s recent renovation of a house located in New Paltz, New York, is a practice in simplicity, efficiency, and low maintenance. Originally designed by John Bloodgood in the 70’s, the single-family residence was clad in T-111 siding without insulation and in desperate need of an exterior renovation, a new roof and a mechanical systems overhaul. Adding to this challenge, the client had requested to use materials that would require little to no future maintenance. 

Before – Now. Image © Alan Tansey

For this reason, AlexAllen Studio selected Shou-Sugi Ban wood as the visual focal point of the exterior. This ancient Japanese technique of preserving wood by charring its surface, is highly resistant to the elements, attractively weathers over time and requires almost no maintenance. Fiber cement paneling was also chosen for its weather resistance, sustainability and its cost-effectiveness. The new exterior reflects the interior spaces with the Shou-Sugi Ban highlighting the House’s main double-height living space. A reveal running around the House divides the wider cement panels at the base from the narrower cement panels above and also marks the House’s the second level.

Ground Floor Plan

2nd Floor Plan

AlexAllen Studio stripped the exterior and windows down to the studs in order to fully insulate, replaced the windows with triple glazed windows and installed a new mini split system to replace the old electric baseboard heaters. The new siding acts as a rain screen and added sun screens further protect the House from the elements.

© Alan Tansey

© Alan Tansey

The result is an aesthetic and performative upgrade that would require little to no future maintenance while retaining the integrity of the existing floor plan and interior spaces.

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Nick Merrick © Hedrich Blessing Photographers

• Architects: ZGF Architects
• Location: Phoenix, AZ, USA
• Area: 220000.0 ft2
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Nick Merrick © Hedrich Blessing Photographers , Tom Harris © Hedrich Blessing Photographers

• Owner: The University of Arizona
• Architect / Interior Designer: ZGF Architects LLP
• Landscape Architect: Wheat Design Group
• Lighting Designer: Francis Krahe & Associates
• Environmental Designer: Atelier Ten
• General Contractor: Hensel Phelps Construction Company
• Structural Engineer: Martin, White & Griffis Structural Engineers / John A. Martin & Associates
• Civil Engineer: Dibble & Associates Consulting Engineers
• M/E/P Engineer: Affiliated Engineers, Inc.
• Acoustical Consultant: Colin Gordon Associates
• Code Consultant: Jensen Hughes

Nick Merrick © Hedrich Blessing Photographers

The underlying goal was to bring the highest standard of cancer care to Phoenix within an evidence-based, multidisciplinary model, using the most modern technologies. This new cancer center represents the first clinical healthcare component on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus. The 220,000 SF building includes spaces for radiation oncology, diagnostic imaging, endoscopy and interventional radiology, exam and procedure rooms, a support and wellness center, an infusion area, and a clinical pharmacy. A secured healing garden, located outside the main lobby, can also be used for outdoor gatherings. 

Nick Merrick © Hedrich Blessing Photographers

A deliberate layering of glass, copper-colored metal, and neutral stone forms the building’s architectural expression, which directly relates to the patient experience—their comfort, privacy, and warmth—while simultaneously establishing the building’s unique identity on the campus. Travertine stone, which matches the desert palette, gives scale to the pedestrian environment and grounds the building. This stone flows inside to the main waiting  spaces, bringing the outside in. The waiting areas on each floor are expressed on the exterior as a glass volume that rises through the center of the building, articulated with horizontal glass sunshades, with a dense frit that protects occupants from the glare of the sun. Because the sun interacts differently with every side of the building, the double façade on the east and west is cloaked in an outer layer of folded, perforated-metal sunshades that protect the exam rooms and offices from the glare of the morning and evening sun, helping to control heat gain and providing a sense of privacy, while still allowing for unobstructed views. The project is targeting LEED-Gold certification.

Tom Harris © Hedrich Blessing Photographers

Plan 3

Nick Merrick © Hedrich Blessing Photographers

Materials and furnishings used in the interior infuse this healthcare facility with warmth and hospitality. The look and feel of the interior environment more closely resembles a hotel or spa, with an elegantly designed lobby, floor-to-ceiling windows, valet parking, and a coffee bar. Travertine stone, in a variegated palette of creams, tans, and browns, used at the exterior building base, was carried through to the interior public spaces, uniting all aspects of the building and creating connections to the desert backdrop. At each level, the public elevators open to a wood feature wall with an oversized graphic numeral in contrasting wood tones to highlight the level being accessed. Public restrooms tuck discretely behind these wood walls. Large waiting lounges on each floor, in close proximity to the elevators, are carpeted and appointed with chairs and sofas in mostly light neutral hues. A unique sense of transparency was achieved through the use of slatted wood divider walls and a mix of clear and etched glass in the lounges and at check-in on the second floor. While the clinical spaces are more representative of medical facilities, the neutral palette is continued, binding the entire facility together. All of the exam and treatment rooms have access to daylight, which is supported by the floor-to-ceiling windows on all sides of the building. Those façades that receive the harshest sunlight rely on a series of see-through exterior screens to help maintain patient comfort.

Nick Merrick © Hedrich Blessing Photographers

Detail

Product Description. The east and west facades are clad with a solar shading system composed of repetitive rectangular quarter-inch aluminum composite panels (ACP) perforated with half-inch diameter holes yielding a 40 percent openness factor. The panels are folded once at a calculated angle, bending outward to reveal a shaded view of the surrounding desert context from the interior. This copper-toned assembly takes on the coloration of the landscape, adding a contextual aesthetic to the project.

Nick Merrick © Hedrich Blessing Photographers

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© Laurian Ghinitoiu

In this latest photoset, photographer Laurian Ghinitiou turns his lens toward JDS Architects’ Maison Stéphane Hessel, a recently-completed, competition-winning mixed-use building in Lille, France. Containing space for a 70-cradle nursery, a 200-bed youth hostel and an office for socioeconomic innovation, the expressively playful building has been designed to respond to the three stages of human growth, from birth, through adolescence and into adulthood. The building volume lifts at its entrances to create public space and invite the entire community to use the building as a retreat from the bustling city, while inside, carved spaces with built-in, soft-edged furniture provide the ideal setting for learning and development.

© Laurian Ghinitoiu

© Laurian Ghinitoiu

© Laurian Ghinitoiu

© Laurian Ghinitoiu

© Laurian Ghinitoiu

© Laurian Ghinitoiu

© Laurian Ghinitoiu

© Laurian Ghinitoiu

© Laurian Ghinitoiu

© Laurian Ghinitoiu

© Laurian Ghinitoiu

© Laurian Ghinitoiu

© Laurian Ghinitoiu

© Laurian Ghinitoiu

© Laurian Ghinitoiu

© Laurian Ghinitoiu

© Laurian Ghinitoiu

© Laurian Ghinitoiu

See more of Laurian Ghinitiou’s work on ArchDaily here, and check out his website for more photography.

Euralille Youth Centre / JDS Architects
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© Adrien Williams

• Architects: NatureHumaine
• Location: Montreal, QC, Canada
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Adrien Williams

• General Contractor: N. Deslauriers Inc.

© Adrien Williams

An athletic young couple wants to transform a fourplex to create their primary residence, while maintaining a rental unit on the first floor. The existing part of the house, dating from the 1930s, is restored on the street side, and the attached garage is restructured to match, as well as to accommodate the new outdoor terrace perched on its roof. Topped with an angular wooden structure, this volume breaks up the perpendicular volumetry of the corner building and allows gardens to nestle into its interstices.

© Adrien Williams

Large bay windows overlooking the north-facing garden bring maximum light to the living areas and show off the striking colour of the stairway. As a focal point of the interior composition, the stairway brings a warm and vibrant tone to the project. The layout of this sculptural object, playing with diagonal lines, is the central dynamic element of the Canari House. 

© Adrien Williams

Plan 2

© Adrien Williams

A black band defines circulation through the house, all the way to the garden. The colour accents in the bathrooms, in orange and blue tones, energize the look of these confined spaces and complete the graphic composition of the project.  

© Adrien Williams

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© Tomasz Zakrzewski

• Architects: RS+
• Location: Krostoszowice, Poland
• Architect In Charge: Robert Skitek, Jakub Zygmunt
• Area: 305.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Tomasz Zakrzewski

© Tomasz Zakrzewski

From the architect. Krostoszowice is a village in a southern part of Silesia (region in Poland). The Investor owns large parcel with a significant slope in the east. The building should to stand on the highest point of the parcel, close to the road, in the north- west corner.

© Tomasz Zakrzewski

The surrounding buildings are very diverse and chaotic. There are mainly houses of the 60’s and  70’s of the twentieth century.

Floor Plan Level 0

The surrounding landscape  interested us more than unexciting development context. Hilly area and forest in the background has become a main point of reference. The building fits to existing topography, coincides with the landscape. House is open towards the most interesting views and separate from the nearest buildings.

© Tomasz Zakrzewski

From the street we can see single-storey building with garage and glass foyer between. This characteristic body of the buildings have a required by the local law sloping roofs, they are covered totally with slate. Concrete  fence wall marks platform with building, entrance area, driveway and wooden terrace suspended over the ground. 

© Tomasz Zakrzewski

Bedrooms are located downstairs. This part of the building is partially covered by ground and invisible from the street. Under the upper terrace, at the ground level is second, fully covered terrace. Exterior cantilevered stairs link both terraces.

© Tomasz Zakrzewski

In interiors, white surfaces of walls and slanted ceiling are complemented by glass, polished concrete and natural wood floors, wooden stairs and dark accessories.

Section

On the top level there is open living room. Pantry, study room, toilet and kitchen were hidden in white cuboid. Above cuboid there is mezzanine with bookcase. Wooden stairs are a conspicuous part of the living room.

© Tomasz Zakrzewski

When we go downstairs we can walk out directly to lower terrace. On this floor there are 2 rooms for children, main bedroom with dressing room, toilet, technical rooms with laundry room and climbing gym. In addition, a storage accessible from the outside is located on the lower floor.

© Tomasz Zakrzewski

Product Description. We covered all main solids by natural slate (Rathscheck Schiefer). We wanted to create dark homogeneous solids and choosing a slate was perfect solution for covering roofs and walls by one lasting material, composing  really good with concrete and natural wood.

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Alongside designer Paul Tinker and developer Esteban Almiron, UK-based illustrator Sam Chivers has created a series of animations visualizing the sustainable development of airports for a recent Guardian piece. The animations, which describe the topics of transport, alternative energy, noise reduction, airport terminal design, biodiversity, and fuel efficiency, capture the passage of time from morning to evening in Heathrow Airport in London.

The article describes recent technological and design advancements in airports around the world that serve to reduce emissions, create healthier indoor environments, and overall support the wellbeing of communities near airports and under flight paths. 

Check out the full article and animated illustrations here.

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This article was originally published in Redshift and is republished here with permission.

In 2001, the Taliban destroyed the Buddhas of Bamiyan in central Afghanistan using dynamite, anti-aircraft guns, and artillery. After weeks of incremental destruction, nothing of the statues remained.

That sad turn of events was the impetus for the founding of CyArk, a nonprofit that uses technology to ensure sites of rich cultural heritage remain available to future generations. Since 2003, they have used laser scanning, photography, photogrammetry, and 3D capture to record nearly 200 sites around the globe.

A laser scan of Al-Madrasa al-Jaqmaqiyah (currently serving as the Museum of Arabic Epigraphy) in Damascus, Syria. Courtesy DGAM/CyArk. Image via Redshift

“With no real three-dimensional or engineering-type record of those structures in Afghanistan, they are just gone,” says Elizabeth Lee, managing director of CyArk. “So we started to go out and capture this information for monuments around the world, so that if anything happens to the physical monuments, we have that record available for future reconstruction efforts.”

Unfortunately, CyArk cannot just focus on capturing sites before the ravages of time, the environment, or natural events erase them from the landscape. Now groups like ISIS have put sites in Syria at the top of CyArk’s priority list, as they try to digitally preserve cultural landmarks that may not exist much longer.

“It certainly increases the urgency and adds a clarity of purpose,” Lee says. “We’ve seen a huge increase in intentional destruction. We were founded in response to a singular intentional destruction, but what we’ve seen over the last 18 months, in terms of specifically targeting these sites, really brings into focus what we’re trying to do and why it is so important to have this information captured.”

And it’s not just about the loss of the historical structures themselves. “That building or that piece of art is something that previous generations left behind as a way of communicating their experience and their worldviews, and when we lose that object, we lose that line of communication to people in the past,” Lee says. “That’s why I think the work that we’re doing right now, and mobilizing these teams in conflict areas, is more urgent than ever because we are losing [sites] at an increased rate.”

Reality-capture training at the Sursock Museum in Beirut, Lebanon. Courtesy CyArk/UNESCO. Image via Redshift

Capturing Sites Within Syria. Initially, CyArk trained Syrian teams in Beirut, Lebanon, to get them familiar with using the technology (including FARO scanners and Autodesk AutoCAD and Recap 360 Pro software) necessary to capture a site.

“It’s a safer region to work in,” says Ross Davison, field manager for CyArk. “It allows them to get better at the entire process and make it quicker, so that when we are going to higher-risk areas, places where you do see active conflict, they can be very efficient in the way they do go about the work.”

Following the training, the teams returned to Damascus, Syria, to start the work. The time it takes to document a site depends on its size and the resolution at which you capture it, with most sites ranging anywhere from one to three days, and larger sites up to two weeks. The upside of the technology is that sites in high-conflict areas can be documented almost without notice.

Reality-capture training at the Sursock Museum in Beirut, Lebanon. Courtesy CyArk/UNESCO. Image via Redshift

“You can send a really small task force, and the technology has come so far at this point that if you deploy two people—one with a camera, one with a scanner—you can get an entire site documented almost unnoticed in a couple days,” Davison says.

Geghard Monastery in Goght, Armenia. Courtesy CyArk/TUMO. Image via Redshift

The risk level at these sites prevents CyArk from using nonhuman technology such as drones to capture the data, since it would draw too much attention to the work they are doing. “They’re loud, noticeable, and easy to track back to their source,” Davison says.

Reality-capture training at Geghard Monastery in Goght, Armenia. Courtesy CyArk/TUMO. Image via Redshift

Racing Against Time. CyArk also spends a lot of time working with local culture-heritage professionals, architects, archaeologists, and surveyors—so they are not only capturing the site, but also empowering people who live in the region with the tools to preserve their history.

“A lot of times organizations will go abroad to work on a project, but once it’s done, all of the information and technology involved with it leaves the country,” Davison says. “If you don’t have the infrastructure or the people in place who actually know how to employ it, it’s not going be a sustainable program.”

As a nonprofit, the other thing CyArk needs to sustain is the financial means necessary to capture as many sites as possible.

“There is endless demand in terms of need to do this work,” Lee said. “The training that Ross did with 5 Syrians tripled into 15 Syrians in a couple of months, and they’re so hungry for this technology and willing to go into these zones that are heavily conflicted because the preservation of their culture and history is so important to them. So it is this race against time.”

Reality-capture training at Geghard Monastery in Goght, Armenia. Courtesy CyArk/TUMO. Image via Redshift

A Moment of Awe. But even when time is precious, these antiquities and what they represent are sometimes too powerful not to stop and take it all in. One time, Davison was leading a training effort in Armenia, teaching a few dozen people to capture a monastery, when the gravity of his surroundings truly hit him.

“We were working on a monastery that was actually carved out of rock, but for the first hour, I was getting a group of high school kids in line and showing them all this stuff,” Davison says. “I was talking about exposures because the inside of the monastery is quite dark, and I was looking around, stopped for a moment and was like, ‘Oh my God, this is incredible.’ It took a hot second, and then I was like, ‘Oh yeah, exposures!’ You really do find yourself being shocked at how amazing these places are every time you go out.”

Reality-capture training at Geghard Monastery in Goght, Armenia. Courtesy CyArk/TUMO. Image via Redshift

Lee says the feedback they received about their work, as well as the selection of potential target sites, tell the same story: “These sites hold meaning,” she says. “They’re really powerful symbols of culture and history, and for people who want to rewrite history, the elimination of some of these things is critical to their message. Having this record is so important because it’s a counter to that hate and that rewriting of the narrative.”

Reality-capture training at Geghard Monastery in Goght, Armenia. Courtesy CyArk/TUMO. Image via Redshift

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© Jorrit't Hoen

• Architects: Caspar Schols
• Location: Eindhoven,The Netherlands
• Area: 45.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Jorrit't Hoen

• Drawings: Eva Ibáñez Fuertes
• Budget: 20.000 euro

From the architect. This is a dynamic garden house which I built at my parental house. The house can be easily adjusted to any weather type, mood or occasion. It is mainly built in Douglas wood.

© Jorrit't Hoen

Background: My mother was looking for a prefab garden house. When she told me about this I suggested that I would design and build the house for her. She was immediately enthusiastic about the idea and provided me the next day with an endless wish list of what the house should be like. All within the 20.000 euro budget and the governmental restriction of a 25m2 footprint.

© Jorrit't Hoen

Just a short version of my mother’s wish list: A place where she can write her book, a place where she can give a large dinner (25-30 people) in the middle of nature, a place where she can give parties, a BBQ place for friends and family-days, an extra sleeping place for guests, place where she can feel away from home in her own garden, a ‘camping’ spot, an outdoor/nature experience, a place where she can sun and chill out next to the pond, a place where her grand children can play and sleep over, a stage where (grand) children can perform (music, theatre) for audience (she loves theatre), a special place, a terrace with windscreen to enjoy early spring sun, a place where she can sleep under the stars any time, a place where she can paint and adjust the light the way she wants to, a place where she can listen to music in nature, bird watching, a place where inside and outside become one (she usually opens up all doors and windows in the house even when temperatures are below 10 degrees Celsius), meditation place, a fun object, a story-telling place, mediation place (she is a therapist), a philosophizing place, game playing, tea house, a place where she can work.

© Jorrit't Hoen

Well, my mother is a very special kind of person, believe me. She is also a very pure person. She wants the pure experience, no fake, no half work. She loves to experiment and is very much attracted to the unconventional. So I was looking for a design with a lot of flexibility, if possible; a design that has the flexibility of clothes. You should be able to get away with and change layers of the house almost as easily as changing clothes when desired. The house should allow for the freedom to adjust it to any wish and weather type at any moment.

© Jorrit't Hoen

The house is completely closed, providing a warm and cosy shelter when weather is rainy, windy, cold or stormy. An excellent place to philosophize at the fire place, play games, write, story telling etc.

Scheme

Top right: When the weather is a little warmer and sunnier; the wood protective shell can be slide open to enjoy maximum light and experience nature to the fullest – still being protected from rain and wind. Imagine waking up, sliding the shell away and going back to bed; enjoying the slowly rising sun. Furthermore, this mode allows for adjustable natural light for all types of activities. The doors at the left and right face of the house (East and West) can be opened up for a cool breeze if necessary.

© Jorrit't Hoen

Elevation

In case the weather gets real good and sunny, the glass shell can also slide open which creates an outdoor living space. Bed, fireplace and furniture are instantly in the middle of nature. Think of how you can sleep under the stars, go sunbathing (with windscreen), give a BBQ party, or just relax and enjoy your freedom while being perfectly comfortable.

© Jorrit't Hoen

Elevation

Bottom right: This mode is the party dinner mode. By sliding the glass shells out; a 45m2 indoor space is created. This provides enough space for a ten meter long table and at least 30 guests.

© Jorrit't Hoen

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© Riaan West

• Architects: Inhouse Brand Architects
• Location: Cape Town, South Africa
• Area: 195.6 sqm
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Riaan West

© Riaan West

What can only be described as the ultimate “man cave”, Inhouse Brand Architects has converted the unused lounge area of a Cape Town residence into an industrial-inspired dream pad for the family’s lucky teenage boy and his friends. 

Taking into account the youngster’s various interests such as skating, surfing and socialising, the Inhouse team aimed to create a trendy, multifunctional space. The project was steered by Creative Director Aidan Hart, and Associate Director Jenine Bruce, who chose a modern industrial aesthetic for this youthful interior. 

© Riaan West

Polished concrete flooring encompasses the entire room and sets the foundation for the interior scheme. More notably, a fully functional concrete skate bowl plays a major part in the design.

This impressive structure was no easy feat. Initially, the bowl was supposed to be built in a stepped down recess, but after realizing that the structure would be too unstable to support the weight of the framework, Inhouse had to come up with an alternative solution. 

© Riaan West

During a six-week process, a revised plan was put into action. An entire floor level was removed; timber fins were crafted in the newfound space to create the frame; flexible plywood and polystyrene were incorporated to shape the backing; sand and rubble were used to fill the level that was taken out; and finally, cement was poured into the structure to solidify the bowl shape. 

Plan

Although the process took longer than initially planned, the end result is a deeper and more functional skate bowl – one that will most certainly keep the teen and his friends entertained for hours!

To embellish this remarkable feature, emerging South African street artist, Jack Fox, applied his signature illustrations to the walls surrounding the bowl. The celebrated artist worked without a set design and completed the impromptu artwork in a twelve-hour, non-stop operation.

© Riaan West

Another striking design feature comes in the form of a grandiose, curved timber wave that cascades from the ceiling down to the floor to create an extraordinary zone for watching movies. This “wave” is crafted out of steel fins that are clad with timber and lit up with three LED strips. It is kitted out with surround sound to produce a genuine movie theatre experience.

The bar area comes equipped with a stylish black Smeg fridge and cleverly positioned surfboard rack, which is not only a functional feature but also displays the seventeen-year-old’s most prized possession. The bar itself, which measures four and a half metres, is fashioned from ground and polished concrete, perfectly matching the flooring. Clad with timber, the bar exudes a robust masculinity.

© Riaan West

Next to the bar and adjacent the timber wave is comfortable booth seating. Framed with timber and upholstered in inviting shades of indigo, this nook provides an enticing ‘chill’ spot.

Industrial track lighting is installed throughout the space. Soft LEDs are embedded overhead in both the booth seating area and the timber wave, to create ambient lighting. Lastly, steel cage pendant lights are suspended over the bar and contribute to the room’s urban-like aesthetic.

© Riaan West

Product Description.The skate-bowl, bar and flooring are all constructed from concrete, making it the principal material used throughout the space. The ample use of concrete allowed Inhouse to convey an industrial aesthetic that relates to the urban “man cave” interior scheme. Florstore on Trend provided the polished concrete flooring, which set the foundation for the overall look and feel of the room.

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